Transformation

A story of a boy
becoming a man.
This was his dream,
this was his plan.

A picture he carried
Beth Ann was her name.
She died on that day
floor one hundred four.
She was his purpose
for going to war.

With a conviction in his heart
to do what was right
he trained long,
he trained hard,
learning to fight.
And when he had finished
He knew through and through
He was one of the proud,
one of the few.

When the fighting began
what did he feel?
Was he ready to die?
Was he ready to kill?
Or might it just be
a warrior's brew.
One for the proud,
and for the few?

Known by more names
Than just one or two
Jar head,
Leather neck,
Devil dog too.
They are the proud,
They are the few.

Gone is the boy
Who once had a dream.
In his dress blues
A man is now seen.
One of the proud,
one of the few.
Now he is called
United States Marine.

Author's Note

This was inspired by a Marine that was deployed in 2003 to Iraq. He made a documentary called Severe Clear.

Reviews

[Sheila Kline]

As the proud daughter of a 20 year Army father, I applaud your words!! We can never, ever give them the homage due for their bravery, sacrifice, and service to our country!
God bless our troops.......each and every one, and thank you for thinking of and honoring them with your words!!!

[icelandicblue]

R.L. This is a fabulous poem of loss and resolve. I thought that this stanza was very profound:


When the fighting began
what did he feel?
Was he ready to die?
Was he ready to kill?
Or might it just be
a warrior's brew.
One for the proud,
and for the few?

It brings the inner conflict to the forefront and in doing so adds a plaintive voice to the piece.

[R. L. Ives]

When they were being flown in on the helicopter, that is what I thought. Surely they had to be thinking this is it, this isn't practice anymore. Very chilling.

I appreciate your review.

[quinfinn]

i cannot think about 9/11 without getting misty eyed for all the tragic loss and the way it changed our way of life forever. this is a poignant and resonant piece of prose and speaks for the many young men and women who chose to serve their country for the pride of defending our nation against those who would destroy our freedoms. i love them , every single one, with all my heart and am adamantly proud of them. well done!

[R. L. Ives]

Thank you Quin. I watched this documentary last night, and it just tore at my heart. To see even a small bit of what they go through, I gotta tell you this momma's heart was just breaking.

I used to do medical transcription for several VA hospitals and when they would go for their comp and pen evals and would talk about coming home and being so angry, suffering from PTSD, I would cry. These were 22 and 23 year old's. This will be the rest of their lives. And now so many are committing suicide. And to have a POTUS that calls them selfish is just beyond my comprehension. But I digress as I step off my soap box.

[quinfinn]

yeh, well, there is a special place in hell for those who would deny our wounded veterans what they so richly deserve. this country owes then a debt which can never be repaid!!!

[R. L. Ives]

Without question. No one can call that an entitlement. They earned every bit of what they do get and then some.

[quinfinn]

absolutely! it is an embarrassment to see them treated like hobos.....

[Thomas Fitzgerald]

Well what can one say, on the one hand this is a poignant and telling piece that grabs the reader around the mind and wont let go, even after reading the piece several times I find it's grip tighter and tighter! A fantastic piece, well done.

[R. L. Ives]

Thank you for the kind review Thomas. I completely understand this tightening grip. I could hardly sleep last night after watching the documentary. I started to write a story, then the poem and went back and forth several times. There was so much I wanted to say about it.

[Thomas Fitzgerald]

You did it well my darling.

[Tate Morgan]

This put me in mind of a poem from ww1

I didnt raise my son to be a soldier
I raised him up to be my pride and joy
And not to carry a gun upon his shoulder
To kill some other mothers darling boy